The
Ethiopian Tourism Commission is a government agency that oversees
the mrunning of the tourism industry in the country. Ethiopia returned
to relative stability in the early 1990s and offers a wide range
of tourist attractions including; cultural, nature and historic.
The Country is easily accessible and is served by the Bole International
Airport in Addis Ababa; the main gateway to Ethiopia. Ethiopian
Airlines flies regularly from a number of major international destinations
including cities in Europe and Arabia. Transport in the country
is mainly by road. Public transport consists of buses and mini-buses.
Places to visit:
Historical Journeys: take a trip to ancient Ethiopia including
the ancient city of Axum, the capital of the Axum Kingdom. Here
you will find a number of interesting ruins and buildings, most
notably; the Yeha Temple and the Debre Damo Monastery.
Gondar: the former capital of the Ethiopian empire, Gondar has
a number of interesting attractions such as; the Fasilides Castle,
the Fasilides Bath, the Ras Beit Palace built in the 18th Century
and the Kusquam Ruins.
Bahir Dar: the starting point of excursions and visits to the
Blue Nile and Lake Tana. An interesting feature on the lake is
the churches and monasteries on its islands.
National Parks: home to rich and diverse wildlife populations;
Ethiopian wildlife parks are also known for their interesting
geographical compositions. Notable parks are; Awash National
Park, Bale Mountains National Park, Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National
Park, Lake Tana and the Gambella National Park.
Addis Ababa: the Ethiopian capital has a good number of tourism
attractions such as; the Grand Palace of Emperor Haile Selassie,
the National Museum, the Tiya Archeological site to the south
of the city, the Zoological Natural History Museum, the Lion
of Judah Monument, Menelik Square which features the imposing
monument of Emperor Menelik II and traditional markets. Addis
is also an entertaining city and has a number of cinema theatres,
restaurants, pubs, night clubs and discotheques.
